Sustainability 101
Monday, April 14, 2014
The Source of the Question
Most
discussions of sustainability are clouded with all sorts of confusing emotional
and political issues. All of these tend
to argument; none of them tend to solutions.
To develop sustainability solutions we must start with simple plans; we
must strip sustainability down to its raw science, devoid of all emotional and
political issues.
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is a closed thermodynamic cycle that at any
point of its development returns to the same form that it had before at that
point. Sounds complicated, doesn’t it?
An Example from High School Chemistry.
All living things and a good number of non-living things are
made up of chemicals called hydrocarbons.
For the purposes of this conversation we don’t even care what these
specific hydrocarbons look like. All of
them burn in the presence of oxygen (air) and other oxidizers, like
chlorine. In every case the products are
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (if burning is incomplete), water, and some other
waste by-products. For our purposes we will
even ignore the possibility of carbon monoxide.
CmHnXXX
+ (m + 1/4n) O2 → m CO2 + 1/2n H2O
We don’t even have to know if I balanced the equation
correctly or not…. We only have to worry
about two things. One. Does the reverse
of this equation exist? Two. Does the
reverse of this equation actually happen?
Yes, in nature, plants turn carbon dioxide and water back into
hydrocarbons and oxygen. Plants and
animals are more or less balanced in a sustainable process. If this were not true, we would eventually
deplete all the oxygen from the air and we would all die.
CmHnXXX
+ (m + 1/4n) O2 ← m CO2 + 1/2n H2O
If the reversed arrow in the equation does not exist,
sustainability does not exist either.
Of course it is solar radiation that makes this possible,
and we lose a lot of waste heat to space, so the universe must be included in
our closed thermodynamic cycle, or else we would need to rewrite our definition
to say, except for radiation.
Except for radiation (and other heat losses), sustainability
is a closed thermodynamic cycle that at any point of its development returns to
the same form that it had before at that point.
A Peanut Butter Sandwich.
Let’s make a very simple peanut butter sandwich. We will use only two slices of bread, a
tablespoon of peanut butter, and a knife with which to spread the peanut butter. Simple.
Or is it?
The system is not sustainable until we wash and dry the
knife and put it back in the drawer from whence it came. Sustainability, requires cleanliness. Everything has a place, and everything must
be returned to its place or the system is not sustainable. Simple.
The system is not sustainable until we plant, nurture, harvest,
grind into flour, mix, bake, slice, wrap, and deliver exactly two slices of
bread back to the bread container from whence it came. For our purposes this is a very simple bread
consisting of only flour and water, and we ignored the water.
Nor is the system sustainable until we plant, nurture,
harvest, grind into paste, and deliver exactly one tablespoon of peanut butter
back in the jar from whence it came.
Our simple peanut butter sandwich doesn’t look so simple
now, does it?
Simplicity of Sustainability.
The key operative words are, “from whence it came.” Nothing is sustainable unless it is returned
to its original pristine condition, or at least to a reasonable facsimile thereof.
Just look at all the things we have taken for granted
here. In washing the knife, we did not
include the very necessary processes of detergent manufacture and recycling, or
the weaving drying towels, or the water itself.
We did not consider that it takes more than flour and water to make
bread, the sustainability of packaging, the source of heat for baking, and literally
thousands of different details. Nor did
we consider any of the complexity of peanut or grain farming, irrigation,
fertilization, and the thousands upon thousands of processes involved in
agriculture and manufacturing. There is
far more in a jar of peanut butter than ground peanuts in a glass or plastic
jar with a metal or plastic lid.
What else have we have taken for granted? Can we put coal, crude oil, or natural gas
back into the ground from whence it came?
Can we even replace what we have taken with a reasonable facsimile, such
as charcoal? The only way to sustain
fossil fuels is never to use them at all.
I’m not recommending that; it’s just a simple scientific fact.
Developing a culture of sustainability must begin with
simple tasks, such as me committing to pick up after myself, doing my share of
the dishes and laundry. Everything has a
place, and everything must be returned to the place from whence it came.
Developing a culture of sustainability must begin with small
tasks, such as me starting a garden in the backyard or raising a chicken, duck,
rabbit or two. If I decide to raise
minor stock for eggs and meat, where will the animal food come from? Where will the plant food come from for my
garden? The idea of five or ten acres of
sustainable independence is becoming more and more complicated.
Developing a culture of sustainability must begin with simple,
small teams, such as us, or our town committing to building an independent
sustainable unit; recycling everything, not just trash, everything. Everything has a place, and everything must
be returned to the place from whence it came.
We’re going to have to do it someday.
Better now than later. It’s just
less painful to do it now.
I will believe that we are developing a culture of
sustainability when my town council commits to developing a town-wide sustainability
plan, and when the 120,000 people who live here, commit to getting it
done. I will believe that we are developing
a culture of sustainability when my personal commitment is complete. It takes teams. This is a big problem. It takes individual commitment. Ownership. This is my problem.
Gotta run. It’s time
for me to put the dishes away and fix supper.
KISS
